


One Song Glory

by ScorchedPoet



Series: Guard Dogs Week 2020 [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Marrow is here for Jaune
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23132986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorchedPoet/pseuds/ScorchedPoet
Summary: Jaune tries to drag himself up against the wall in hopes that he can get to his feet- if he can get into the main streets he can get someone to help him until his back up arrives. Although as he rises up he sees dark spots blurring his vision, he starts to panic as he drags himself along the wall towards the opening of the road once again- he’s starting to stumble past the opening of an alleyway when he feels someone’s hand wrap around his arm and he turns to them to try and ask for help when they strike him hard across the face, knocking him back down to the floor before he lets out a panicked gasp as he tries to drag himself away.
Relationships: Marrow Amin/Jaune Arc
Series: Guard Dogs Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662781
Comments: 10
Kudos: 30





	1. Will I?

In all honesty the day things went wrong was just like any other day. Another average Thursday where Jaune had woken up to the sound of Nora snoring loudly as Ren tried to rouse her so that they would have enough time to get ready before having to head over to the briefing room.

He’s very content as he slips out of his pyjamas and wrestles his jeans up over his legs in a very manly fashion. Admittedly he’s very glad that Ren had been standing nearby or he might have ended up falling on his face. After he slips on his new hoodie he spares a glance at his old Pumpkin Pete one with a small frown, most of the reason he had stopped wearing it under his gear was that it was getting a bit too snug on his shoulders nowadays. But that didn’t mean he didn’t still love it to pieces.

Even if half the time it was disappearing out of his dorm and being worn around the dining hall by a certain dog Faunus. Jaune loved to see Marrow starting to relax a little in his down time so he wasn’t all too angry about that.

Jaune pulls his chest plate firmly into place before looking at Ren desperately until his friend came over to help him with fastening the straps correctly. Nora is already hopping around eagerly as she starts to chatter away about the dream she had last night- so Ren has enough time to help with his gauntlets before he’s ushering Nora into the bathroom to get the both of them ready.

Luckily for him he’s gotten ready with enough time to put the kettle on, slowly he pulls the two mugs he had stashed in their dorm room out of the corner with a soft smile. He heaps a small amount of cocoa into both before pouring the hot water over them- adding just a dash of milk before stirring them thoroughly. By the time he’s gotten the two mugs ready Nora and Ren are finally out of the bathroom and ready to go- admittedly it takes him a lot longer to get to the briefing room with the two mugs in hand. They are way too hot to risk rushing after all.

It’s definitely worth it as he slips into the seat beside Marrow and hands him his mug. Jaune smiles fondly at Marrow as he sees his tail starting to wag excitedly as he takes in a deep breath and enjoys the scent of the cocoa. They both take a sip of their drinks at the same time and groan softly- Just as Clover walks to the front and starts telling everyone their mission assignments today.

Jaune isn’t even remotely surprised as Clover gives him an almost apologetic look before informing him that he would be needed down in Mantle to help walk the kindergartners safely to school this morning. At this point he just expects it so he just smiles brightly and resigns himself to the overbearing attentions of Mantle’s single mothers. Ugh.

Marrow at least gives him a sympathetic smile before his partner hears his own name; looks like Marrow would be assisting Yang and Blake with some Grimm sightings over near Amity Arena. Jaune tried not to feel too hurt about being left out again… but it was definitely hard to keep being the odd one out.

The rest of the briefing just seems to drift along quickly and before he knows it he’s finished his cocoa and everyone is excitedly heading off to go get ready for their missions. Jaune gets up and as usual hands his empty mug off to Marrow- they had a sort of… unspoken agreement. Whoever brought it would not have to clean the cups- and whoever took the mugs to clean them would bring the drinks tomorrow. It was a great system.

Though admittedly he’s happier with their other unspoken agreement. He’s barely walked into the hall when Marrow drags him into the closet and pins him against the door as he crushes their lips together. Jaune can’t help the needy noise that escapes his throat as the two cling to each other, they only reluctantly part after a few minutes because they both know that the shuttle down to Mantle would be leaving soon. And Jaune had somewhere he had to be.

“I’ll see you when you get back from your mission...” he whispers warmly to Marrow as he presses a fleeting kiss to his lips before ducking out of the closet quickly, looking around awkwardly before hurrying away. Marrow would likely leave in a while to avoid anyone realizing what they’d been up to. 

Jaune is lucky enough to catch the shuttle by the skin of his teeth, he slumps into an available seat and takes in a few hurried gasps of air before putting on the seat belts- he’s gearing up for yet another severe case of motion sickness as he closes his eyes tight and tries to ground himself against the wall of the shuttle as best he can. One of these days he would be able to handle this properly. One day.

By the time he finally feels the shuttle land he feels like running out as fast as he can. But he’s learnt to slow down having been doing this for the last month, that if he gives himself a chance to settle down he’s less likely to throw up. And it’s not like the shuttle will be leaving any time soon now.

He finally unbuckles his seatbelt after around five minutes, a little unsteady on his feet as he stumbles out of the shuttle and leans on a wall. Glancing around the streets of Mantle with a weak smile as he realized just how familiar they were starting to get- he rarely got lost anymore on his way to the drop off point- not that it really worked as a drop off as the mothers liked to follow after him and the kids as they walked to school anyway.

One of the things he has ended up doing to keep these mothers under control was to stop bringing Crocea Mors along with him. They had a terrible habit of trying to slip it out of its sheath ‘accidentally’ because they wanted to see the big strong huntsman showing it off. But after the incident with his shield knocking one of them over he had… decided it wasn’t a sound idea to bring his weapon. These runs were always fine anyway.

Jaune smiles as he approaches the drop off point, the kids are excited to see him as always- maybe not as excited as their mothers were trying to be but it was still sweet to see them all. He was starting to get to know them by name at this point!

As he checks each of them are present and accounted for he offers his hand to them as each of them high five him in turn before walking side by side. It’s not the longest walk to get to the school so he usually gets out in time to grab some food from a noodle cart. But he frowns when he realizes that someone seems to be trailing a short distance behind them.

Glancing back he takes in the man’s appearance for a long moment and relaxes when he realizes the man is the spitting image of one of the kids he is escorting today. It had to be one of the fathers had decided to come out today instead of Sherry’s mother. He’s fairly sure he’s seen him on the walk once or twice before- not often enough for him to have learned his name though.

They are about halfway to the school when he starts hearing aggravated whispers behind him, the kids aren’t really speaking more than their usual chitter but as he looks back he sees that several of the mothers have started arguing with one another again and he can’t help but sigh at the sight of the grown women fighting over nothing.

Jaune freezes when he looks around his surroundings slowly, this is the part of the trip he hates the most- it’s too isolated compared to the rest of the walk. And the road is too narrow to really be able to turn around and calm them all down. He’s nearly at the other end when he hears a low growl coming from up ahead of them- the continuous rumbling is way too familiar for his comfort. 

His hand immediately swings down to his hip only to knock against the small stop sign as he lets out a startled hiss. Turning his head back to the kids he holds his hand up- “I need you all to head back the other way- go to your moms and go into the convenience shop!” most of the kids give him a confused look but they quickly run back the other way when they hear the growling again. Jaune turns to look ahead as he takes the sign off of his hip and swallows roughly.

Moving slowly forwards he approaches the opening of the road and peers around suspiciously, his eyes catch onto the low prowling form of a Sabyr as it moves along the open part of the road ahead- he takes the relatively heavy sign in hand as he slowly walks closer- his hand brushes against his pocket as he fumbles his scroll out and presses his thumb down hard on the emergency button.

Jaune isn’t so stupid as to hope this is the only Sabyr creeping around. He isn’t even sure if he can take it out without a proper weapon. So he’s got to delay it long enough that one of the others can make their way down and assist.

Or if there is more than one of them… well hopefully he could draw it out of hiding and away from any civilians.

He knows the instant that the Sabyr catches sight of him, It’s red eyes glowing ominously as it lets out a loud roar before it comes bounding towards him furiously. Jaune thrusts the sign out in front of him desperately as he is knocked back slightly by the force of the Grimm’s pounce. His improvised weapon already showing damage from its claws. 

Jaune lets out a low yell as he takes a swing at the Sabyr’s head with the metal sign, it clangs loudly as it makes content but aside from really aggravating it- well. It doesn’t really seem to do any real damage, Aside from damaging the sign itself that is. A loud snap echoes as it strikes at the sign and it slices through it without issue.

Slipping backwards with a low gasp he tries to back off- only to take the next swipe across the chest with a low grunt- his eyes look desperately around the tight space he’s stuck in for something he can use.  
He barely manages to step backwards in time to dodge the next swipe, only to let out a loud yell as the Sabyr takes to opportunity to lunge into him again. This time without anything to block he is sent flying backwards on the ground with the Grimm on top of him, he pushes desperately against its neck as he tries to keep its tusks away from his throat. 

Jaune lets out a choking sound as he feels the full weight of the Sabyr pressing down on top of him, each moment it’s pushing his arm closer to his chest as it snaps at his face – its breath hot and disgusting as it keeps trying to force its way down. Shit! Shit! Not like this!

His arm gives away as he lets cries out in pain as its tusks tear into his chest, his aura shimmers before shattering as it presses its teeth down into him painfully- tears prick at his eyes as he wheezes- his hand reaches desperately to his side as he tries to grab something, anything that he can use to get it off of him before it manages to do permanent damage.

Something catches against his gauntlet and he lets out a desperate cry as he swings upwards with it- the object shimmers before digging into the Sabyr’s skull. It cries out before dissipating into black smoke and Jaune trembles before dropping the object- a shard of glass as it turns out from the remnants of a glass bottle someone must have dropped. He raises his hand up to his chest plate and whimpers as he realizes that it’s been broken through, as he raises his hand up to his face the first thing he notices is the blood. 

Jaune tries to drag himself up against the wall in hopes that he can get to his feet- if he can get into the main streets he can get someone to help him until his back up arrives. Although as he rises up he sees dark spots blurring his vision, he starts to panic as he drags himself along the wall towards the opening of the road once again- he’s starting to stumble past the opening of an alleyway when he feels someone’s hand wrap around his arm and he turns to them to try and ask for help when they strike him hard across the face, knocking him back down to the floor before he lets out a panicked gasp as he tries to drag himself away.

He isn’t so lucky though. The man hasn’t just went one on one with a Sabyr and drags him kicking and screaming weakly into the alley and he is terrified- what does he want? What did Jaune do?  
That’s when he recognizes him briefly as he pulls him further out of view, he hadn’t noticed him splitting off from the mothers earlier and he feels a pang of fear as he realizes that his daughter Sherry must have been left alone- a fist comes down against his face again and he cries out loudly.

“I don’t know what the HELL my wife sees in you!” he hears the man screaming down at him before he kicks him roughly in the side, Jaune tries to curl in on himself as he lets out a pained gasp- but the man has no intention of stopping his strikes as he reels back and this time the kick has him seeing stars as the man’s boot slams into his head.

Jaune can hear him grumbling as he feels hands tugging at the straps of his chest plate and his chest seizes in horror as he sees the man drawing a knife- slicing through the straps as Jaune pushes himself away with his feet- only to be dragged back by his hair with a sob. 

When he slams his boot into the wound on his chest everything goes dark suddenly. He barely registers the sound of the knife as it continues to destroy his gear; he remembers waking as his body felt like it was on fire- the pain was so intense that he screamed out before he finally passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm reformatting this! i'm going to be continuing it properly :)


	2. One Song Glory

Joanna is walking down the streets with her weapon in its staff form as she looks around intently, a small child had ran up to her in tears after explaining that her daddy had ran after the huntsman that usually walked her to school- and that there had been a really scary noise ahead of them. Now it’s possible that this could have been nothing. But she had been hearing a lot of noise as she got further in. It sounded suspiciously like someone screaming for help- her eyes widen as she hears a loud pained cry and she runs quickly up the narrow road whilst glancing up each alley desperately.

That’s when she catches sight of a man rising from the ground and she approaches him slowly with a frown on her face, she’s about to question what’s going on when she sees a prone form laying below him that seems badly injured so she calls out. “Hey! What’s going on here!” the man startles as he looks back at her before tripping up clumsily and running out of the alley quickly- she decides to let him go as she ducks down beside the unconscious man on the ground before she lets out a horrified gasp as her hand trails along the horrific puncture wounds on his chest- her eyes dart to the side as she sees that his chest plate has been discarded to the side and she knocks it with her hand before frowning- the straps had been slashed through.

The rest of his gear seemed to be in a pretty poor state, it looked as if someone had gone at it with a knife without caring that they were hurting the huntsman further- Joanna freezes as she realizes they’ve gone as far as to press the knife into the man’s jeans. She notices his scroll is lying beside him and she startles as it starts to buzz- as she turns it around she winces when she recognizes the caller’s picture.

This huntsman was associated with the ace-ops. And Marrow was trying to reach him. Shit- how would she explain this?

Joanna takes an uneasy breath as she shrugs off her coat off so she can press it against the sluggishly bleeding chest wound before she growls lowly and answers the call. As much as she’d rather not deal with Marrow… this man clearly needed urgent assistance.

“Jaune? Weiss‘s coming looking for you. I just wanted to be sure you hadn’t butt dialled the emergency line again because you know how she get-“the concerned voice barely even waits for any response before starting to babble on- What else could she expect of Marrow. Joanna cuts him off before he can whine any further. “This isn’t Jaune. He’s been attacked. You might want to make sure that someone sends medical assistance his way… It doesn’t look too good.” She can hear a shocked whimper on the other end of the call before suddenly Marrow is screaming at someone- the call is ended abruptly as she hears a desperate cry for Qrow.

“Hmph… I’m sure they’ll send someone kid.” She whispers as she carefully lifts Jaune into her arms, covering him as best she can to preserve his modesty with how ruined his gear is.

She’s been walking for around five minutes when Weiss Schnee herself wanders into the road and glances around before their eyes meet and she sees the shock as she rushes towards them. “You the one that came to check on him… I hate to leave you with him like this but I’m not exactly welcomed by the military. Some man was standing over him when I found him. Looks like they attacked him with a knife- I’ll collect his gear and I’ll see what Pietro can do…” she whispers as she lowers the injured blond down into the other woman trembling arms.

“Marrow called a moment or so again. Pretty sure medical assistance is on their way- and Qrow as well if the screaming was any indicator. Keep the jacket pressed tight on the wound to slow the bleeding until help arrives alright?” Joanna says it softly as she watches the terrified expression Weiss’s face melt into determination as she kneels on the ground with Jaune’s body in her arms and presses down firmly with the jacket.

Joanna takes it as her que to leave and quickly turns on her heel before disappearing into the alleyway to collect the gear before heading off to turn this stuff in at Pietro’s place. She’d mentioned to hold off on any repairs unless a cop had gotten to look at it first.

Somehow Qrow arrives before anyone has gotten a chance to come and look over Jaune, at first Weiss doesn’t even notice the crow as it lands besides them until suddenly Qrow is letting out a broken sound as he gently takes Jaune out of her arms- she notices the blood on her dress with a start as she looks over at Qrow. He’s so focused on Jaune that he barely seems to remember she’s here.

Weiss decides to head back to the entrance of the road as she keeps her eyes out for the ambulance that Marrow had called for- she had no doubt that he would be fighting tooth and nail to get back from his mission at Amity Arena now that he knew something bad had happened to Jaune. The pair weren’t nearly as subtle about their relationship as they thought they were.

She’s barely managed to get the attention of the approaching vehicle as she hears a strangled cry coming from behind her as Jaune seems to flail in Qrow’s arms desperately as he sobs- “It- it hurts- let me go- Let me go!” he screams as Qrow does his best to keep him still to try and prevent the bleeding from growing worse again. The paramedics rush past Weiss as they approach Qrow and Jaune- who is still breathing heavily as he tries to feebly pull himself out of the arms that are holding him too tight- why won’t he stop oh brothers stop!

He slowly fades back out of consciousness as one of the paramedics doses him with something, though he whimpers weakly as he passes out. They set a stretcher out beside him and carefully Qrow sets him down before he is whisked away.

Weiss and Qrow stand there for a long moment as if in shock, they glance at each other and how the blood has stained their clothes before they both start following after the ambulance. They hadn’t even asked if one of them wanted to ride along. That… couldn’t be a good sign.

“Uncle Qrow?” Weiss whispers weakly as she wraps her arms around herself. “I don’t… understand. Why would someone do this to him?” she bites her lip as the older huntsman wraps his arms around her.

“I don’t know Weiss. I… I don’t know. But I’ll find out” his eyes narrow before he gently tugs her along with him. “Come on. It’s a long walk to the hospital.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stop using RENT songs as titles Victor.


	3. I Should Tell You

By the time Marrow finally makes it back he is feeling very sore, and he’s taken a few more hits than really should have been necessary. But he had been desperate to claw his way through the Grimm that had kept him holed up by the Amity Arena project for far longer than he had wanted, he’s exhausted as he pushes his way into the hospital waiting room- his eyes catch sight of Weiss and he storms over to her.

“What’s going on?!” he almost flinches at his tone as soon as he snaps at her, and the tired look on her face just makes him feel worse than he already does. He can see that her dress is stained red and a pang of terror goes through him.

“W-Where is Jaune?” Marrow whispers as he sits on the chair next to her and tries to get her to look at him for more than a few seconds. “Weiss- Please! Tell me what’s going on!” he begs her as he grabs her shoulder and turns her to look at him.

She just looks away as her eyes fill with tears and he feels a jolt of fear go through him as his eyes widen. “Weiss!” he snaps as his chest twists with uncertainty, until he hears the door slam open as Qrow walks into the room and he looks at him desperately.

“Qrow- Is Jaune?” Marrow manages to choke out only to let out a relieved sob as the older huntsman shakes his head- “He’s gonna be okay. Joanna saved his life by stumbling upon him when she did.” And that doesn’t really make him feel any better. “Saved… his life? I don’t…” Marrow whispers in horror as he gets up and grips at Qrow’s shirt desperately.

“Is he alright?” the words fall out of his mouth without him really realizing he’s started speaking and there is a strange look in Qrow’s eyes. “What do you know Qrow, please tell me!”

Qrow wraps his arms around Marrow and pulls him against his chest, his hand slowly rubbing soothing circles on his back as Marrow starts to break apart in his arms. “He was fine- this morning he was-“ he lets out a weak sob as he clings to Qrow, tears rolling down his eyes as he hides his face.

“Why him!” Marrow cries out as he slams his fist into the other man’s chest, but Qrow just continues to try and soothe him.

“They say he’ll recover pup… But he’s going to need us to be there for him. I don’t know if he’s going to want to tell us what happened to him. Hell. I wish I didn’t know.” Qrow whispers in a pained tone and he avoids Marrow’s eyes when he sees him trying to judge his reaction.

“I know you two have something- something going on. Just try not to spook him. He’s terrified of being touched right now.” And then he realizes he might have said too much anyway as Marrow’s eyes turn dark as his tail flattens against his back. “No… No!” he hears as the younger man pulls away from him before looking towards the door. “What room is he in.”

“Pup- you need to cool down first.” Qrow tries to start only to recognize the pained look on Marrow’s face. “Ugh. Room 28- just promise me you’ll take it slow Pup…” he whispers softly as the Faunus gives him a weak nod before rushing off through the door, quickly scanning the numbers on the doors as he seeks out 28 desperately.

Marrow freezes when he finally does find the right door. Something in his chest twisting painfully as he stares at it. What if Jaune wants to be left alone? What if he sees Marrow and it just makes him feel worse? It isn’t until he hears a low cry from inside the room that he makes the choice to push the door open.

Jaune’s head weakly turns to the door as it opens, his blue eyes wide with fear as he lets out a rough sob- Marrow looks at him and notices the way his shoulders seem to relax a little bit as he recognizes him. He lifts his arms weakly and within a moment Marrow has crossed the room to wrap his arms around Jaune as the other man cries against his shoulder.

“I’m here… it’s okay… I’m here.” Marrow whispers into Jaune’s ear as he rubs his back gently, he can see the mess of bandages that have taken up most of Jaune’s chest and back- there are some stitches on his arms and on his legs- his eyes widen slightly as he sees the dark bruises that trail down his neck and his chest- even down his stomach- before he forces his head back up to Jaune’s terrified face. “I don’t know what to do- it hurts so badly-“Jaune whimpers as Marrow presses a soft kiss to the top of his head.

“I’m sorry Jaune… I’m sorry- should have gone with you…” he mumbles as tears start to roll down his cheeks, he’s too busy trying to brush the ones off of Jaune’s face to really acknowledge them. “No! He could have- have done… this to you” he hears Jaune’s voice trembling and he knows what he means.

“I love you Jaune… I’m staying here. Staying with you- I promise” Marrow cries softly as he holds Jaune close as gently as he can, trying to keep his eyes closed so he doesn’t look at the bruises down his back. At the way his partner is trembling weakly- he’s counted at least 17 different bruises so far and he’s scared to keep looking.

And they continue to hold each other close, even as Jaune’s tears start to dry on his face as the smallest of sighs escapes his throat as Marrow kisses each of them away. He’s still in a lot of pain as he rocks forward slightly, his boyfriend seems to understand as he gently climbs into the bed and lets Jaune roll over to lay his head on his chest. “I’ve got you Jaune… try and get some sleep.”

Things weren’t alright. They were far from it. But as long as they were together… they could carry on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurt/Comfort. (Most of this fic stems from days of guard dogs week 2020 <3)


	4. Your Eyes

At first Jaune isn’t quite sure where he is right now. His eyes slowly flutter open and he mumbles sleepily as he snuggles into Marrow’s chest affectionately, though he’s surprised when the other man lets out a soft sob in response. Slowly he lifts his head up until he meets his boyfriend’s eyes and something in them makes him freeze in fright.

Something in his eyes had him racking his brain to try and figure out just could have upset him like this. All the while reaching up to brush away his tears with one of his hands almost as if he was on auto pilot, a frown slowly makes its way across Jaune’s face as he takes in Marrow’s scuffed up uniform- he takes in his own appearance and he lets out a choked out gasp as he finally realizes that he’s wearing a hospital gown. His skin is riddled with so many bruises that he’s confused that his aura hasn’t healed him yet.

Jaune closes his eyes and reaches for the familiar tug of his aura just as he feels Marrow’s hands gently reaching up to cup his face softly. “Jaune… Jaune wait.” The words seem to fade away and a small choked out gasp escapes the blond man’s throat. He can’t feel his aura at all- it wasn’t even the same sensation as when it had been broken before. Something was wrong.

“Marrow- I can’t…” the words slip out of his mouth without him really intending for them to. His hands slowly fisting at the fabric of Marrow’s uniform as his eyes snap open and gaze into his sad blue eyes. “My aura-“he starts only to be interrupted as his boyfriend softly responds, “It was broken Jaune-“he knows that he’s trying to be gentle but that isn’t what Jaune means. 

Jaune desperately shouts at him before he can continue speaking further, “No! NO! It’s gone- Marrow- Marrow I feel like I did before it was unlocked!” he cries out as the hands on his face falter slightly before gingerly wrapping around his back. He can’t stop the hiss of discomfort as Marrow brushes against his skin. Jaune is slowly starting to realize just how much he is hurting right now- his cheeks flush pink and he feels as if he had been slapped in the face as he takes in a panicked wheeze.

“Why do I hurt so bad-“he starts as he tries to sit up only for Marrow to grab him firmer with a panicked look in his eyes. “Don’t!” Marrow’s face is twisted in pain as his hold trembles around Jaune’s back. “Don’t…” he repeats slowly as he eases his hold slightly when he sees how Jaune’s gritting his teeth in pain.

Marrow doesn’t know how to begin explaining what’s happened to Jaune. He doesn’t want to be the one who breaks this to him right now, there is no way he can be strong enough to say it out loud yet. “You’ll hurt… worse if you sit down.” He says softly as he bites his lip. Jaune looks over his face desperately for some hint of what he’s missing here. Until suddenly it’s as if he isn’t in this room anymore- his eyes grow wide as he remembers Sherry’s dad and the Sabyr- and being held too tightly. And brothers what that bastard had done had hurt so badly.

Jaune shudders roughly as he presses his eyes shut, whimpering low as he buries his face into the familiar scent in front of him. “No… Marrow please- tell me this is a bad dream. Tell me he didn’t-“he can feel tears rolling down his face as he sobs against his boyfriend’s chest. But he’s painfully aware of how badly Marrow is trembling, that he can feel him crying against the top of his head.

“Tell me I’m wrong- This… this can’t have happened to me.” Jaune shudders as he feels his chest seizing up in panic, the slow circles that Marrow are rubbing on his back only helping slightly as the other man starts whispering in his ear softly. Trying to ground him as his mind starts wandering back into that alley- the sensation of his jeans being cut into until the man had laughed bitterly and- Jaune lets out a harsh sob as he feels his lower back twinge painfully. He felt so dirty as the truth startled to settle into his mind.

How would he ever be able to look Weiss in the eye again? How would he be able to talk to Qrow without remembering what the two of them had seen when they found him. “Jaune!” he jumps slightly when he realizes that Marrow has been desperately trying to get his attention. “Stay with me… I’m here for you- I won’t leave your side. J-Just please… try and stay here.” He whispers as he gently kisses away Jaune’s tears.

Jaune lets out a soft hiccup as his brow creases in pain. “I don’t know what to do.” He can feel as his boyfriend hesitates before pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “You don’t need to do anything love. Just… I need you to know this. None of this- None of this is your fault Jaune.” He tries to turn his face away from Marrow but it doesn’t stop him from continuing on, “You don’t deserve this. No one deserves this… But you are still the man I love Jaune. I love you.” Something about his tone has Jaune curl up against him as he lets out a shaky breath.

“…I love you too Marrow.” And he feels Marrow pulling him closer in the same tender way he always had when they had managed to steal time together. And if part of him desperately tries to believe that somehow things would feel better again someday… maybe that part of him would be right?

The other part of him continued to whisper bitterly in his mind as he pushes out for his aura and still reaches nothing. What good could he be if he didn’t have his aura? His Semblance? How could he keep the others safe? The thoughts are starting to race when he feels a strange tug – his eyes slowly drifting up to Marrow’s scrunched up face. The other man was whispering something oddly familiar.

“P-Pyrrha… said that before.” Jaune murmurs in confusion as he feels the low spark of his aura kindling in his chest. “How did… how did you do that?” he gasps as he reaches for his aura and feels it weakly pulse in response. Marrow just gives him a soft smile as his eyes trail over Jaune’s body as a low icy blue flickers over them both. “But that’s your aura…” Jaune mumbles in confusion as he feels Marrow’s hand gently stroking his hair.

There is a steady sound as he takes in Marrow’s tail gently smacking against his leg, his brain slowly catching up with the words and the promise that his boyfriend had made. “Jaune… There are more bonds in our world than you realize. I think she knew it too… She bound herself to you once… I promise I’ll be here. I will.” Marrow is unflinchingly determined as he meets Jaune’s eyes.

Bound herself to him. Was that what she’d done back in the forest?

“You bound yourself to me?” he whispers in disbelief as he realizes that somehow Marrow really did still want him. “Jaune. I love you- nothing could ever change that.” And something about the softness of his tone has tears starting to roll down Jaune’s face again. “Is there a way to make it mutual?” he mumbles as Marrow’s face seems to burn. “M-Maybe when you recover… You need your aura right now Jaune. Not me.”

Jaune feels a wobbly smile spread over his face. That wasn’t a no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright all the reformatting is done! Any new chapters after this will actually be new! <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually for Guard Dog's Week 2020. Day 5 AU.
> 
> The AU is that Salem doesn't come. Arrests never happen. Cinder was caught and Neo escaped.
> 
> I MIGHT JUST CONTINUE THIS?!


End file.
